Load carriage for industrial lift truck



APPi1 1967 E. D. CHANEY 3,314,561

LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Filed June 5, 1964 4 Shets-Sheet1 INVENTOR.

BY EARL 0. CHAMEY HIS ATTORNEY P 1967 E. o. CHANEY 3,314,561

LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Filed June 5, 1964 4Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGZ INVENTOR. EARL D. CHANEY W 'MQ L HIS ATTORNEY April18, 1967 E. D. CHANEY LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 5, 1964 FIG?) INVENTOR.

EARL D. CHANEY HIS ATTORNEY April 13, 1967 E. D. CHANEY 3,314,561

LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK Filed June 5. 1964 4Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. EAR L. D. CHANEY BY MGM-9 1.

HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,314,561 LOAD CARRIAGE FOR INDUSTRIALLIFT TRUCK Earl D. Chaney, 832 Windsor Road, Cumberland, Md. 21502 FiledJune 5, 1964, Ser. No. 372,985 4 Claims. (Cl. 214514) This inventionrelates to a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck and,more particularly, to a load carriage for use with an industrial lifttruck in which the load may be automatically loaded and unloaded fromthe load carriage and held in a locked position during movement of theload by the industrial lift truck.

Industrial lift trucks are employed to transport loads from one area toanother as well as to vertically move the load. The standard industriallift truck merely employs a pair of horizontal forks, which projectforwardly from the truck, on which the load is supported. While theforks function satisfactorily for loads already mounted on a pallet orskid or in a box, for example, there are many other load configurationsthat cannot be handled by merely being supported by the forwardlyprojecting forks of the industrial lift truck.

Accordingly, various types of structures have been devised to permit theindustrial lift truck to be utilized for transporting loads of variousconfigurations. One type of attachment for use with an industrial lifttruck has been a pair of curved clamping members, which are employed tograsp the curved surfaces of a cylindrical member. However, thisstructure has the disadvantage of being able to transport only a singlecylindrical member at a time. For example, if tires were to betransported by this device, only one tire could be satisfactorilytransported at a time and this would be prohibitive in cost.

Another type of load handling device for use with an industrial lifttruck has utilized the horizontal lift forks but made them pivotal. Thepivoting of the lift forks results in a larger load being accommodatedthan by the normally horizontal disposed forks. However, thedisadvantage with the pivoted forks is that they can either clamp orsupport the load to be carried but not perform both functions at thesame time. Therefore, a disadvantage of this structure is that clampingmust be depended upon to provide all of the support for the load whenthe lift forks are pivoted from their normal horizontal position forfunctioning as a clamp. Again, for example, with tires as the load, theforks, when used as the clamping mechanism, can only move one tire at atime. Of course, more tires can be accommodated when the forks aredisposed horizontal as a support. However, there is no mechanism forlooking or holding the tires in position when transporting them with theforks horizontally disposed so that the tires could fall off the forksduring movement.

Another type of attachment used with an industrial lift truck has been acontainer having a base and two verti cal fixed sides. However, thevertical sides can not func tion as a clamping mechanism since they arenot movable. Again, with a stack of tires, for example, there would beno way to insure that the tires are held in position in transportationof the load unless the tires are the same size as the distance betweenthe sides. Naturally, tires have varying diameters so that the structurewith the bottom and fixed sides would not be readily adaptable for usein a tire warehouse, for example, where tires in stacks of manydiameters must be handled.

The present invention satisfactorily solves the foregoing problems byproviding a load carriage for use with an industrial lift truck in whichloads of varying size may be accommodated. Furthermore, the presentinvention provides a clamping mechanism for retaining the load inposition on the load carriage during transportation by the industriallift truck. The present invention also includes means for mechanicallyunloading the load from the load carriage.

An object of this invention for use with an industrial lift be locked inposition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a load carriage for usewith an industrial lift truck in which the load may be mechanicallyremoved from the carriage.

A further object of this invention is to provide a load carriage for usewith an industrial lift truck in which loads of varying configurationsmay be locked in position.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a load carriage foruse with an industrial lift truck in which the load is centered on theload support platform.

Other objects of this invention will be readily perceived from thefollowing description.

This invention relates to a load carriage adapted to be connected to anindustrial lift truck having means for moving the load carriage in avertical direction. The load carriage includes a base disposed in asubstantially horizontal plane and adapted to support a load thereon.The load carriage has a pair of parallel members disposed on oppositesides of the base in planes substantially perpendicular to the planecontaining the base. The members are adapted to be moved toward and awayfrom each other and adapted to engage the load on the base when movedtoward each other to hold the load in position. The load carriage hasmeans to urge the load on the base off the base after the members aremoved away from engagement with the load.

The attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of theinvention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, of the load carriageof the present invention and connected to an industrial lift truck andtaken along the line 1-1 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the load carriage of FIGURE 1 and showinga portion of the industrial lift truck;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, taken along the line3-3 of FIGURE 2 without the connection to the industrial lift truck; and

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the load carriage of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a base 1% of the load carriageof the present invention. The base 14] is disposed in a substantiallyhorizontal plane and its front or forward portion functions as a loadsupport platform, which is adapted to support a load carried by the loadcarriage. The edge of the front portion of the base 10 is tapered topermit the base 10' to slide under the load to be carried.

The load carriage includes a plurality of upstanding vertical supports11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 (see FIGURE 3). The bottom of each of thevertical supports 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 is attached to an anglemember 18 at the rear of the base It). It should be understood that allof the connections between various members of the load carriage arepreferably made by welding although other suitable means may be employedif desired. The top of each of the vertical supports 11, 12, 14, 15, 16and 17 is secured to a substantially horizontal angle member 19.

A similar set of vertical supports 20-25 (see FIGURE 2) is spacedforwardly from the corresponding vertical supports 11, 12, 14, 15, 16,and 17. The bottom of each of the vertical supports 2025 is attached toan angle member 26 (see FIGURE 1), which is secured to the base is toprovide a load carriage truck in which the load may 3 in substantiallyparallel relation to the angle member 18. The tops of the verticalsupports 26-25 are joined together by a substantially horizontal anglemember 27, which is substantially parallel to the angle member 19 in thesame horizontal plane.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the ends of the angle members 19 and 27 areconnected by parallel angle members 28 and 29. A rectangular frame isformed by the connection of the angle members 19, 27, 28 and 29.

The vertical supports 11 and 12 are connected to substantiallyhorizontal angle members 38 and 31, which are vertically spaced fromeach other. The corresponding vertical supports and 21 are connected bysimilar substantially horizontal angle members (not shown), which arevertically spaced from each other.

The vertical supports 16 and 17 are secured to substantially horizontalangle members 32 and 33, which are vertically spaced from each other.Similarly, the corresponding vertical supports 24 and 25 havesubstantially horizontal angle members 34 and 35 (see FIGURE 1)connected therebetween and vertically spaced from each other.

The vertical supports 12, 14, 15, and 16 have spaced horizontallydisposed angle members 36 and 37 connected to their outer surfaces. Theangle members 36 and 37 are spaced a suflicient distance apart to permitan attachment 38 on a vertically movable member 39 of an industrial lifttruck 48 to be disposed therebetween. The attachment 38 is secured tothe angle members 36 and 37 of the load carriage by suitable means suchas bolts (not shown). Thus, whenever the member 39 is moved verticallywithin spaced channel members 41 (see FIG- URE 2) on the industrial lifttruck 40, the load carriage is moved up or down depending on thedirection of movement of the member 39.

The industrial lift truck may be driven by any suitable motive meanssuch as an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, for example.The vertically movable member 39, which functions as an elevator, may bemechanically or hydraulically operated. However, since the load carriageemploys hydraulic cylinders, it is preferable to utilize a hydraulicmechanism for raising and lowering the member 39. Of course, the truck40 must have a suitable hydraulic pump, reservoir, and controls (notshown).

As shown in FIGURES 1, 2, and 4, the base 10 has flanges 42 on oppositesides of its front portion, which functions as the support platform. Amovable frame 43 is positioned adjacent the rear of the support platformportion of the base 10 on which the load is supported. The frame 43 isdisposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the horizontal planecontaining the base 10. The frame 43 is adapted to be moved toward thefront of the base 10 and substantially parallel to the horizontal planecontaining the base ill to urge the load from the base 10.

The frame 43 preferably has a lattice arrangement formed of a pluralityof spaced horizontal members 44 attached to spaced vertical supports 45.The tops of the vertical supports 45 are connected to a substantiallyhorizontal angle member 46 and the bottom of the vertical supports 45are secured to a substantially horizontal angle member 47. A pluralityof substantiallyhorizontal angle members 48 is disposed between thespaced vertical supports 45 to provide support for the frame 43.

The movement of the frame 43 is controlled by a hydraulic cylinder 49.One end of the cylinder 49 is pivotally connected to the angle member lArod or pin 50 extends through apertures in bifurcated portions of theend of the cylinder 49 and an aperture in a flange 51, which extendsdownwardly from an angle member 52 (see FIGURE 3), to form the pivotalconnection. The angle member 52 is attached to the angle members 19 and27. Suitable means such as cotter pins (not shown) extend throughapertures in opposite ends of the pin 50 to maintain the bifurcatedportions of the end of the cylinder 49 and the flange 51 connected.

At its other end, the hydraulic cylinder 49 has an extensible piston 53secured to a continuous roller chain 54 by a member 55. Movement of theextensible piston 53 with respect to the cylinder 49 is controlled bythe operator of the truck 40. Hydraulic fluid is supplied from thereservoir (not shown) on the truck 40 to the cylinder 49 throughflexible hose 56 and removed from the cylinder 49 through flexible hose57 for return to the reservoir on the truck 40 when it is desired tomove the piston 53 outwardly with respect to the cylinder 49. When thepiston 53 is to be retracted, hydraulic fluid is supplied to thecylinder 49 through the hose 57 and removed from the cylinder 49 throughthe hose 56.

The chain 54 meshes with sprockets 58 (see FIGURE 2) and 59 (see FIGURE3), which are secured to substantially horizontal pinion shafts 60 and61, respectively. One end of the shaft 60 is supported in bearings 62and 63 (see FIGURE 3). The bearing 62 is supported by a flange 64 on amember 65. The member 65 extends between the angle members 32 and 34 andis supported thereby (see FIGURE 1).

Similarly, the bearing 63 rests on a flange 66 of a member 67. Themember 67 extends between the angle members 32 and 34 in spaced parallelrelation to the member 65. The member 67 also is supported by themembers 32 and 34.

A pinion 68 is secured to the pinion shaft 60 for rotation therewith andis disposed between the bearings 62 and 63 in spaced relation thereto.The pinion 68 meshes with a rack 69, which has one end pivotallyconnected through a pin 70 to a flange 71 on one of the horizontal anglemembers 48 of the frame 43 (see FIGURE 1). The rack 69 passes betweenthe members 65 and 67 (see FIG- URE 3) and is enclosed within atriangular shaped housing 72 (shown in phantom in FIGURES 1 and 2).

The other end of the pinion shaft 60 is supported in a similararrangement and has similar connections. Each end of the pinion shaft 61has a similar arrangement. None of these connections will be describedin detail since each is exactly the same as that described for one endof the pinion shaft 60.

The connections between the frame 43 and the racks 69 provide thesupport to maintain the frame 43 in a plane substantially perpendicularto the horizontal plane containing the base 10'. These connections alsoinsure that the frame 43 moves substantially parallel to the horizontalplane containing the base 10.

Cooperating members 73 and 74 are positioned on opposite sides of thebase 1.6 for engaging the load on the base 10 to center the load andhold it in centered position. The members 73 and 74 are disposed inplanes substantially perpendicular to the plane containing the base 10.The surface of each of the members 73 and 74 adjacent the side of thebase 10 is planar. The height of the members 73 and 74 is slightly lessthan the width of the base 10 whereby the load on the base 10 may bequite high.

The members 73 and 74 are moved toward and away from the sides of thebase 18 and each other by means of a hydraulic cylinder 75. One end ofthe hydraulic cylinder 75 is pivotally connected to an ear 76 of anangle member 77, which is secured to the vertical supports 15 and 23, bya pin 78. The pin 78' extends through apertures in bifurcated portionsof the one end of the cylinder 75 and an aperture in the ear 76 to formthe pivotal connection. Suitable means such as cotter pins (not shown)extend through apertures in opposite ends of the pin 78 to maintain thecylinder 75 and the ear 76 connected.

The other end of the hydraulic cylinder 75 has an extensible piston 79.Movement of the extensible piston 79 with respect to the cylinder 75 iscontrolled by the operator of the truck 40. When it is desired to movethe piston 79 outwardly with respect to the cylinder 75, hydraulic fluidis supplied from the reservoir on the truck 40 to the cylinder 75through hose 80 and removed from the cylinder 75 through hose 8 1 forreturn to the reservoir on the truck 40. When the piston 79 is to beretracted, hydraulic fluid is supplied to the cylinder 75 through thehose 81 and removed from the cylinder 75 through the hose 8t).

The piston 79 has a bifurcated member 82 on its exposed end to permitpivotal connection of the piston 79 to an ear 83 of a connecting rod 84through a pin 85. The

pin 85 extends through apertures in the bifurcated member 82 and anaperture in the ear 83 to form the pivotal connection. Suitable meanssuch as cotter pins (not shown) extend through apertures in oppositeends of the pin 85 to maintain the piston 79 and the car 83 connected.

The upper end of the connecting rod 84 is pivotally connected to one endof a crank lever 86 by a pin 87 and the lower end of the connecting rod84 is pivotally connected to one end of a crank lever 88 by a pin 89.Each of the crank levers 86 and 88 is formed with two spaced arms (seeFIGURE 2) disposed on opposite sides of the connecting rod 84. The upperend of the crank lever 86 is fixed to a shaft 90. Similarly, the upperend of the crank lever 88 is fixed to a shaft 91.

The shaft 90 has circular throw cranks 92 and 93 attached at oppositeends thereof for movement therewith. Each of the throw cranks 92 and 93(see FIGURE 2) comprises two spaced circular members.

The throw crank 92 is pivotally connected to a clevis rod 94, which ispositioned between the two spaced circular members of the crank 92, by apin 95. The throw crank 92 isconnected to a second clevis rod 96 by apin 97, which is disposed diametrically opposite to the pin 95. Theclevis rod 96 also is positioned between the two spaced circular membersof the crank 92. Thus, when the crank 92 rotates in one direction, theclevis rods 94 and 96 move toward each other while rotation of the crank92 in the opposite direction moves the clevis rods 94 and 96 away fromeach other.

The clevis rod 94 is pivotally connected to a bar or rod 98 by a pin 99.The other end of the bar 98 is attached to the member 74. The bar 98rides in bearing sleeves 190 and 101 on the vertical supports 17 and 16,respectively. Thus, when the throw crank 92 rotates c1ockwise (as viewedin FIGURE 3) with the shaft 90, the bar 98 is urged inwardly to move themember 74 toward the side of the base The clevis rod 96- is similarlyconnected to the upper portion of the member 73. Additionally, there aresimilar connections from the throw crank 93 to the members 73 and 74.Furthermore, the shaft 91 is connected through throw cranks to thelowermost portions of the members 73 and 74. Thus, there are fourconnections, two at the top and two at the bottom, from the connectingrod 84 to each of the members 73 and 74. However, these connections willnot be described in detail since each is the same arrangement as theconnection through the bar 98.

When the extensible piston 79 of the hydraulic cylinder 75 is movedoutwardly, the connecting rod 84 moves upwardly to rotate the shafts 90and 91 clockwise (as viewed in FIGURE 3). This results in the members 73and 74 moving toward the base 10 to engage the load on the base It tocenter the load thereon and maintain or hold it in its centeredposition. When the flow of the hydraulic fluid is reversed so that it issupplied to the cylinder 75 by the hose 81 and removed from the cylinder75 through the hose 80, the connecting rod 84 moves downwardly causingthe members 73 and 74 to move away from the sides of the base 10 andcease to engage the load on the base 10.

Considering the operation of the present invention, the frame 43 of theload carriage is disposed in the position 6 of FIGURES 1 and 2 prior toa load being placed on the base 10. The members 73 and 74 are spacedfrom the sides of the base 10 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

The industrial truck 40 is propelled to the area in which a load such astires, for example, is located. The member 39, which functions as anelevator, is moved to position the base 10 on the floor of the loadingarea. The industrial truck 49 is next moved forwardly to advance thesupport platform portion of the base 10 underneath the tires. Thetapered edge of the base 10 allows it to slide beneath the bottom tire.

The extensible piston 79 of the hydraulic cylinder 75 is then actuatedto move the members 73 and 74 toward each other and the sides of thebase 10 until the tires are engaged by both of the planar surface of themembers 73 and 74. If only one of the surfaces of the members 73 and 74engages the tires, this member will move the tires until both memberscontact the tires whereby the load is centered on the base 10. Bysuitable mechanism (not shown) on the truck 40, the hydraulic fluidmaintains the cylinder 75 in the position wherein the members 73 and 74are locked to maintain their planar surfaces in engagement with thetires. The member 39 is then moved upwardly to raise the base 10 fromthe floor of the loading area.

The industrial truck 40 is moved away from the loading area and drivento the unloading area. The member 39 is moved downwardly to rest thebase 10 on the floor of the unloading area. The flow of fiuid to thehydraulic cylinder 75 is then reversed whereby the members 73 and 74move away from engagement with the tires.

After the members 73 and 74 cease engagement with the tires, theextensible piston 53 of the hydraulic cylinder 49 is actuated bysupplying fluid to the cylinder 49 through the hose 56 and removingfluid from the cylinder 49 through the hose 57. This results in thechain 54 advancing the frame 43 toward the front of the base 10. Thisadvancement of the frame 43 in a direction parallel to the planecontaining the base 10 urges the tires off the base It) and into theunloading area. As shown in FIG- URE 4, the height of the frame 43 isslightly greater than the height of the members 73 and 74 to insure thatthe frame 43 contacts the entire height of the tires or other loaddisposed on the base 10.

The frame 43 is limited in its advancement toward the front by theamount of movement of the extensible piston 53 of the cylinder 49 sothat it does not proceed beyond the tapered edge of the base 19. Sincethe piston 53 of the cylinder 49 can not extend beyond a certaindistance, this limits the advancement of the racks 619.

After the tires have been pushed off the base 10 by the frame 43, theflow of fluid to the hydraulic cylinder 49 is reversed by supplyingfluid to the cylinder 49 through the hose 57 and removing fluid from thecylinder 49 through the hose 56. This causes retraction of the piston 53and the frame 43 is returned to its starting position. The member 39then is actuated to raise the base 10 from the fioor of the unloadingarea. Finally, the industrial truck 41 is moved away from the unloadingarea to return to the loading area to begin another operation.

It should be understood that the number of vertical and horizontalmembers forming the upright supporting structure for the actuatingmechanisms of the frame 43 and the members 73 and 74 can be varied ifdesired; it is only necessary that there be sulficient structure tosupport the mechanisms. It also should be understood that the frame 43could be a solid member if desired. It should be understood that thetires were given as one example of a load; any type of configuration orshape of load can be centered and maintained or held in position on thebase 10 of the load carriage by the members 73 and 74.

An advantage of this invention is that all steps of load ing andunloading are performed mechanically. Another advantage of thisinvention is that it insures that the load remains on the load carriagewhile the load is being transported to its unloading area. A furtheradvantage is that the load carriage is adapted for use with anyindustrial lift truck. Still another advantage of this invention is thatthe load is maintained or held in position on the load carriage,irrespective of the shape or configuration of the load, during movementof the load carriage.

For purposes of exemplification, a particular embodiment of theinvention has been shown and described according to the best presentunderstanding thereof. However, it Will be apparent that changes andmodifications in the arrangement and construction of the parts thereofmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1 claim:

1. A load carriage adapted for use with an industrial lift truck havingmeans for vertically moving said load carriage, said load carriageincluding a base disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and havingits front portion functioning as a support platform adapted to form thesole support of a load thereon, said base having an upright structuremounted on its rear portion, a pair of members disposed on oppositesides of said base, means connecting said members to said uprightstructure, said connecting means adapted to simultaneously move saidmembers toward and away from each other and said base, said membersengaging the load thereon for automatically centering the load andholding it in its centered position when said connecting means move saidmembers toward each other, a frame disposed between said members andadjacent one side of said upright structure and said support platformportion of said base, a plurality of substantially horizontally disposedmeans attached to said frame at spaced points in spaced planes andsupported by said upright structure to maintain said frame in a planesubstantially perpendicular to said base, means cooperating with saidhorizontal disposed means to advance and retract said horizontaldisposed means substantially parallel to said base to move said framesubstantially parallel to said base to urge the load off said base whensaid members cease to engage the load, said cooperating means beingsupported by said upright structure and being disposed within saidupright structure, and said upright structure having means on its sideremote from said frame for attachment to the vertically moving means ofthe industrial lift truck.

2. A load carriage for supporting without the aid of pallets a load ofcompressible material such as tires or the like and adapted for use withan industrial lift truck having means for vertically moving said loadcarriage, said load carriage including a base disposed in asubstantially horizontal plane and having its front portion functioningas a support platform adapted to directly support a load of tires or thelike thereon, said base having an upright structure mounted on its rearportion, a pair of members disposed on opposite sides of said base, eachof said members being of a height slightly less than the width of saidbase and having one end terminate adjacent the plane containing saidbase, each of said members extending from the front edge of said supportplatform portion of said base to beyond the rear edge of said supportplatform portion of said base, a cylinder supported on'said uprightstructure, said cylinder having a piston movable in response to fluidpressure, means connecting said piston to each of said members wherebysaid members are connected to said upright structure, said members beingmoved simultaneously toward and away from each other and said base whensaid piston is actuated, means on said upright structure cooperatingwith said connecting means to permit said members to move onlysubstantially parallel to the plane containing said base When saidpiston is actuated, said members engaging the load of tires on saidsupport platform portion of said base for automatically centering theload of tires and holding the load of tires in its centered positionwith the tires compressed when actuation of said piston moves saidmembers toward each other, a frame disposed adjacent one side of saidupright structure and adjacent the rear edge of said support platformportion of said base, the width of said frame being substantially thesame as the width of said support platform portion of said base, theheight of said frame being at least equal to the height of each of saidmembers, means mounted on said upright structure and connected to saidframe to maintain said frame in a plane substantially perpendicular tothe plane containing said base and to the plane containing said members,a second cylinder supported on said upright structure, said secondcylinder having a piston movable in response to fluid pressure, meansconnecting said second cylinder piston to said frame connecting means tomove said frame substantially parallel to the plane containing said basewhen said second cylinder piston is actuated to urge the load of tiresoff said platform support portion of said base when said members ceaseto engage the load of tires to allow the tires to expand, and saidupright structure having means on its side remote from said supportplatform portion of said base for attachment to the vertically movingmeans of the industrial lift truck.

3. The load carriage according to claim 2 in Which said base has asubstantially rectangular shape and has a continuous surface.

4. The load carriage according to claim 3 in which said uprightstructure is substantially the same width as the width of said base.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,508,698 5/1950Von Beren 2l46 2,560,438 7/1951 Gut-1n 2l4653 2,785,818 3/1957 Mercieret al 214514 2,841,302 7/1958 Reisman et al.

2,959,313 11/1960 Bettencourt et al. 214--653 3,021,024 2/1962 Nagin214-514 3,121,502 2/1964 Schroeder 214-510 3,174,639 3/1965 Chase et al.214653 GERALD M. FOR'LENZA, Primary Examiner.

R. B. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner,

1. A LOAD CARRIAGE ADAPTED FOR USE WITH AN INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK HAVINGMEANS FOR VERTICALLY MOVING SAID LOAD CARRIAGE, SAID LOAD CARRIAGEINCLUDING A BASE DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE AND HAVINGITS FRONT PORTION FUNCTIONING AS A SUPPORT PLATFORM ADAPTED TO FORM THESOLE SUPPORT OF A LOAD THEREON, SAID BASE HAVING AN UPRIGHT STRUCTUREMOUNTED ON ITS REAR PORTION, A PAIR OF MEMBERS DISPOSED ON OPPOSITESIDES OF SAID BASE, MEANS CONNECTING SAID MEMBERS TO SAID UPRIGHTSTRUCTURE, SAID CONNECTING MEANS ADAPTED TO SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVE SAIDMEMBERS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AND SAID BASE, SAID MEMBERSENGAGING THE LOAD THEREON FOR AUTOMATICALLY CENTERING THE LOAD ANDHOLDING IT IN ITS CENTERED POSITION WHEN SAID CONNECTING MEANS MOVE SAIDMEMBERS TOWARD EACH OTHER, A FRAME DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID MEMBERS ANDADJACENT ONE SIDE OF SAID UPRIGHT STRUCTURE AND SAID SUPPORT PLATFORMPORTION OF SAID BASE, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSEDMEANS ATTACHED TO SAID FRAME AT SPACED POINTS IN SPACED PLANES ANDSUPPORTED BY SAID UPRIGHT STRUCTURE TO MAINTAIN SAID FRAME IN A PLANESUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID BASE, MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAIDHORIZONTAL DISPOSED MEANS TO ADVANCE AND RETRACT SAID HORIZONTALDISPOSED MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID BASE TO MOVE SAID FRAMESUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID BASE TO URGE THE LOAD OFF SAID BASE WHENSAID MEMBERS CEASE TO ENGAGE THE LOAD, SAID COOPERATING MEANS BEINGSUPPORTED BY SAID UPRIGHT STRUCTURE AND BEING DISPOSED WITHIN SAIDUPRIGHT STRUCTURE, AND SAID UPRIGHT STRUCTURE HAVING MEANS ON ITS SIDEREMOTE FROM SAID FRAME FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE VERTICALLY MOVING MEANS OFTHE INDUSTRIAL LIFT TRUCK.